Carcharias taurus

– Vulnerable

Taxonomy

Kingdom:

ANIMALIA

Phylum:

CHORDATA

Class:

CHONDRICHTHYES

Order:

LAMNIFORMES

Family:

ODONTASPIDIDAE

Scientific Name:

Carcharias taurus

Species Authority:

Rafinesque, 1810

Infra-specific Taxa Assessed:

See Carcharias taurus (East coast of Australia subpopulation)

See Carcharias taurus (Southwest Atlantic Subpopulation)

See Carcharias taurus (Western Australia subpopulation)

Common Name/s:

English	—	GREY NURSE SHARK, SAND TIGER SHARK, SPOTTED RAGGED-TOOTH SHARK
French	—	REQUIN TAUREAU
Spanish	—	TORO BACOTA

Assessment Information

Red List Category & Criteria:

VU A1ab+2d ver 2.3 (1994)

Year Assessed:

2000

Assessor/s:

Pollard, D. & Smith, A.

Evaluator/s:

Musick, J.A. & Fowler, S. (Shark Red List Authority)

Justification:

This large coastal species of shark has one of the lowest reproductive rates known among elasmobranchs, giving birth to one or two large young every two years. As a result, annual rates of population increase and ability to sustain fishing pressure are very low. Although the species is widespread, regional populations are isolated and no longer thought to mix. Catch rates of well-studied populations in Australia and South Africa have shown declines as a result of commercial fishing, spearfishing and beach meshing, requiring the introduction of management. Despite protection in Australia, population recovery is being very slow.

History:

1996

Endangered (Baillie and Groombridge 1996)

Geographic Range

Range Description:	Wide-ranging in warm-temperate and tropical coastal waters of the Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea and Indo-West Pacific Ocean; absent from the Central Pacific and Eastern Pacific Oceans.
Countries:	Native: Albania; Algeria; Argentina; Australia; Bahamas; Benin; Bermuda; Brazil; Cameroon; Cape Verde; China; Colombia; Cuba; Cyprus; Côte d'Ivoire; Djibouti; Egypt; Eritrea; France; Gambia; Ghana; Greece; Guinea; Guinea-Bissau; Hong Kong; India; Indonesia; Israel; Italy; Japan; Jordan; Kenya; Korea, Republic of; Kuwait; Lebanon; Liberia; Libyan Arab Jamahiriya; Macao; Madagascar; Malta; Mauritania; Monaco; Montenegro; Morocco; Mozambique; Namibia; Nigeria; Oman; Philippines; Sao Tomé and Principe; Saudi Arabia; Senegal; Sierra Leone; Somalia; South Africa; Spain (Canary Is.); Sudan; Syrian Arab Republic; Taiwan, Province of China; Tanzania, United Republic of; Togo; Tunisia; Turkey; United States; Uruguay; Viet Nam; Western Sahara; Yemen
FAO Marine Fishing Areas:	Native: Atlantic-eastern central; Atlantic-northwest; Atlantic-southeast; Atlantic-southwest; Atlantic-western central; Indian Ocean-eastern; Indian Ocean-western; Mediterranean and Black Sea; Pacific-northwest; Pacific-southwest; Pacific-western central

Population

Population Trend:

Habitat and Ecology

System:

Marine

List of Habitats:

10.1	Marine Oceanic - Epipelagic (0-200m)

Threats

List of Threats:

3.1.3	Harvesting (hunting/gathering) - Food - Regional/international trade (ongoing)
3.4.3	Harvesting (hunting/gathering) - Materials - Regional/international trade (ongoing)

Bibliography

Bibliography:

Baillie, J. and Groombridge, B. (compilers and editors) 1996. 1996 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland.

Compagno, L.J.V. 1984. FAO species catalogue. Vol. 4. Sharks of the world. An annotated and illustrated catalogue of shark species known to date. FAO Fish. Synop. No. 125, vol. 4.

Compagno, L.J.V. 2002 Sharks of the World. An annotated and illustrated catalogue of shark species known to date. Vol. 2. Bullhead, mackerel and carpet sharks (Heterodontiformes, Lamniformes and Orectolobiformes). FAO Species Catalogue for Fishery Purposes. No. 1, Vol. 2. FAO, Rome.

Compagno, L.J.V. and Niem, V.H. 1998 Odontaspididae. Sand tiger sharks. In: K.E. Carpenter and V.H. Niem (eds) FAO identification guide for fishery purposes, pp.1264-1267. The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific. FAO, Rome.

Hilton-Taylor, C. (compiler). 2000. 2000 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK.

Shark Specialist Group. 2000. IUCN Shark Specialist Group Red List Assessments, 2000 (unpublished report).

Shark Specialist Group. For more information, see the Specialist Group website.

Citation:	Pollard, D. & Smith, A. 2000. Carcharias taurus. In: IUCN 2007. 2007 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 30 August 2008.
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